Free Online Massachusetts Digital Archives

The Ancestor Hunt has been cataloging and listing links to free online genealogy collections in over 20 different record categories since 2014. These are available for you to view and use via the Resources tab above.

It occurred to me, however, that there is a massive amount of genealogy and historical material that can help us researchers as we discover who belongs in our family tree, and more importantly, what is their life story. But this genealogical and historical material doesn’t fit nicely into a specific genealogy record category.

As researchers, we should avail ourselves of the types of materials listed below. They definitely will help us in our genealogy and family history research  These online resources are available generally at state libraries and archives, larger public libraries, and college and university digital collections. Hence the creation of these lists of free online digital archives. I hope they prove useful to you in your pursuit

Types of Information Available in Digital Archives

• Scrapbooks
• Diaries
• Family Papers, Biographies, and Other Collections
• Letters
• Oral Histories
• Maps
• Bulletins and Newsletters
• Corporate Collections
• Local Community and County Histories
• Photographs and Postcards
• Rare Books and Manuscripts
• Government Publications and Documents
• and Yes, Genealogy Record Collections and Indexes

The Free Online Digital Archives for the state are listed below, preceded by Archives that are available for the region or the country:

Multistate Archives

• Digital Commons Collections
• Digital Public Library of America
• Library of Congress Digital Collections
• National Archives Online Exhibits
• PastPerfectOnline Collections
• Smithsonian Digital Library

Massachusetts

• American Centuries…view from New England
• Amherst College Digital Collections
• Berklee College of Music Digital Collections
• Boston College Digital Collections
• Boston University Digital Collections
• Brandeis University Digital Collections
• Bridgewater State University Digital Collections
• Clark University Digital Collections
• College of the Holy Cross Digital Collections
• Digital Commonwealth
• Emerson College Digital Collections
• Fitchburg State University Digital Collections
• Framingham State University Digital Collections
• Hampshire College Digital Collections
• Harvard University Digital Collections
• Massachusetts Archives – Digital Records
• Massachusetts College of Art and Design Digital Collections
• Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts Digital Collections
• Massachusetts Historical Society – Digital Collections
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology Digital Collections
• Massachusetts Libraries – Digital Collections
• Mount Holyoke College Digital Collections
• Northeastern University Digital Collections
• Salem State University Digital Collections
• Smith College Digital Collections
• Springfield College Digital Collections
• Suffolk University Digital Collections
• Tufts University Digital Collections
• University of Massachusetts – Amherst Digital Collections
• University of Massachusetts – Boston Digital Collections
• University of Massachusetts – Dartmouth Digital Collections
• University of Massachusetts – Lowell Digital Collections
• University of Massachusetts – Medical School at Worcester Digital Collections
• Wellesley College Digital Collections
• Wentworth Institute of Technology Digital Collections
• Wheaton College Digital Collections
• Williams College Digital Collections
• Worcester Polytechnic Institute Digital Collections